Aviation garment



Oct. 12,1943, J. R c. QUILTER ETAL 2,331,727

IVAVIATION GARMENT Filed July 18. 1941 INVE/YTORS Jmw Hymn) cuw/snrqwcrai .xmss arm ry Patented Oct. 12, 1943 AVIATION GARMENT John Raymond Cuthbert Quilter and James Gregory, Woking, England Application July 18, 1941, Serial No. 403,028 In Great Britain July 30, 1940 14 Claims.

This invention relates to aviation garments, such as flying suits for aviators, of the kind in which the parachutes are normally contained in the garments, being covered by rear closure flaps extending from the sides, as described in our pending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 312,786, filed January 6, 1940.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement for connecting together the upper portions of the closure flaps after the packing of the parachute in the back of the garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding down the packed parachute in the lower part of the container so as to prevent entanglement and to facilitate the withdrawal of the parachute when the release takes place.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved fastening for the upper portions of the closure flaps by means of a flexible member attached to the back portion of the garment and cooperating with a plurality of individually detachable press-studs or like devices upon the adjacent edges of the closure flaps.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of the upper portion of a flying suit, the closure flaps of the parachute pack being shown partly opened.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, drawn to a larger scale.

The flying suit a illustrated is of the type described in the above mentioned pending application Serial No. 312,786, to which reference may be made for further description of the general arrangement. The main parachute is normally contained in the back portion of the garment, partly in pockets (not shown) below the waist level and partly above the waist level, as indicated at b; two closure flaps cc extending from the opposite sides, so as to cover the ,main parachute and shroud lines, are provided with two smaller external flaps dd under which the pilot parachute is housed, both pairs of flaps being held in closed position by the cones e, pins or the like controlled by the ripcord e which is enclosed in the tubular seam or housing e sewn upon the main closure flap 0. The upper portions of the main closure flaps 00 above the external flaps dd are connected together by means of an internal coverstrap I provided with two lines of press-studs g or the like engaging with corresponding lines of spring sockets h upon the adjacent edges of the closure flaps. In Fig. 1, the top corner of the left-hand flap c is turned back to disclose a few of the press studs and sockets, while the upper portion of the right-hand flap c is turned back completely to disclose the entire line of studs and sockets; it will be understood that when packing the parachute in the back of the garment, prior to engagement of the flaps with the locking cones e, both flaps cc are disconnected from the cover strap f and turned back completely to afiord a wide opening, thereby facilitating the packing. It will be noted that an additional press stud g is provided at each side upon the inner or main portion of the suit, level with the top pair of studs on the strap 1, to engage with an additional spring socket h on the top edge of the respective flap; these edges are thus kept in close relation to the nape of the neck, being normally covered by a pillow member 1' containing an inflatable bag for life-saving purposes.

As seen more clearly in Fig. 2, the upper and lower extremities of the strap f are secured at 1V to the inner or main portion of the suit; between its lower extremity and the bottom pair of press studs 9, the strap forms a curved loop or bight 1 which rides over the packed parachute b so as to hold it down and prevent entanglement with the press-stud connections, so that the silk or like material cannot work up towards or become damaged by catching in the press-studs.

The connection of the main closure-flaps 00 at their adjacent edges by means of the internal cover-strap f with press-studs g or the like at intervals along the strap provides a relatively flexible structure so that there is less obstacle to the rolling up of the garment for transport or storage, than when the connection is effected by means of sliding clasp fasteners or the like.

The cover-strap I may be' about 2% inches wide for example, its main portion being about 12 inches long with seven pairs of press-stud fittings g spaced at about 2 inches apart. and its lower curved portion :i being about 5 inches long; its upper attachment at f to the inner portion of the garment may be close to the back of the neck, under the pillow member i, and its lower attachment at f approximately level with the third pair of press-studs g, counting from the bottom. In the stowed position, as seen in Fig. 2, this strap will have its main studded portion substantially vertical while its lower portion will take a roughly quadrantal shape from the bottom press-studs, curving up over the folded parachute canopy to its lower attachment at f by stitching or the like to the inner portion of the garment.

It will be understood that the detachabl connection of the upper portions of the main closure flaps cc by means of the internal coverstrap 1 is intended to facilitate the packing, and that these upper portions of the flaps need not be separated at the time of releasing the parachute; the lower parts of the flaps, at about the waist level, are normally connected together by their eyelets engaging with the usual locking cones e controlled by the rip cord. Upon pulling the rip cord handle the lower parts of the flaps can open to allow the parachute to be drawn out through the gap between them, while the upper parts remain connected together by the cover-strap f: the curved lower portion of the strap, extending from the bottom pair of studs g to the attachment f acts as a guide to facilitate the drawing of the parachute through the gap between the opened lower parts of the flaps. When the parachute is deployed, th pull upon the shroud lines transmitted by the lift straps will suifice to free the press-studs gtr so that the flaps cc can open widely as necessary.

What we claim is:

1. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, a parachute container attached to said back portion, said container extending from the shoulders to below the waist level of said garment, and independently releasable means for closing the upper and the lower portions of said container, said upper portion closing means including an internal strap attachedto said back portion.

2. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, a parachute container attached to said back portion, said container extending from the shoulders to below the waist level of said garment, and independently releasable means for closing the upper and the lower portions of said container, said upper portion closing means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion.

3. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, a parachute container attached to said back portion, said container extending from the shoulders to below the waist level of said garment, and independently releasable means for closing the upper and the lower portions of said container, said upper portion closing means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion and adapted to ride over the packed parachute.

4. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, a parachute container attached to said back portion, said container extending from the shoulders to below the waist level of said garment, and independently releasable means for closing the upper and the lower portions of said container, said upper portion closing means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, fasteners upon said strap adjacent to one end thereof, and co-operating fasteners upon the upper portion of said container, the other end of said strap being adapted to hold the parachute down in said container.

5. An, aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, two flaps attached laterally to said back portion and independent means for connecting the upper and the lower portions of said flaps to form with said back portion a container for a parachute, said upper portion connecting means including a flexible member attached to said back portion and engageable with said flaps.

6. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, two flaps attached laterally to said back portion, and independent means for connecting the upper and the lower portions of said flaps to form with said back portion a container for a parachute, said upper portion connecting means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, engageable with said flaps and adapted to ride over the packed parachute.

7. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, centrally separable flaps attached laterally to said back portion and forming therewith a container for a parachute, releasable means for fastening together the lower portions of said flaps, and other means for fastening together the upper portions of said flaps, said other fastening means including an internal strap attached to said back portion and detachably engageable with the adjacent edges of said flaps.

8. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, centrally separable flaps attached laterally to said back portion and forming therewith a container for a parachute, releasable means for fastening together the lower portions of said flaps, and other means for fastening together the upper portions of said flaps, said other fastening means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, fasteners upon opposite edges of said strap, and co-operating fasteners upon the edges of the upper portions of said flaps.

9. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, centrally separable flaps attached laterally to said back portion and forming therewith a container for a parachute, releasable means for fastening together the lower portions of said flaps, and other means for fastening together the upper portions of said flaps, said other fastening means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, detachably engageable with the adjacent edges of said flaps and adapted to hold the packed parachute down in the lower part of said container.

10. An aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, centrally separable flaps attached laterally to said back portion and forming therewith a container for a parachute, releasable means for fastening together the lower portions of said flaps, and other means for fastening together the upper portions of said flaps, said other fastening means including an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, fasteners upon said strap adjacent to one end thereof, and co-operating fasteners upon the edges of the upper portions of said flaps, the other end of said strap being adapted to ride over the packed parachute and hold said parachute down in said container.

11. an aviation garment forming a parachute pack, comprising a back portion, centrally separable fiaps attached laterally to said back portion and forming therewith a container for a both the upper and the lower portions of said flaps enabling the stowing of the parachute in said container, said strap fitting over the packed parachute as said flaps are fastened together to close said container, and the separation of only the lower portions of said flaps enabling the withdrawal of said parachute from said container, said strap guiding said parachute during said withdrawal.

12. In an aviation garment having its back portion covered by lateral flaps normally closed a by fastening means at their adjacent edges to form a parachute container, the combination of quickly releasable fastening means for the lower portions of said flaps, a plurality of individually detachable fastening devices for the upper portions of said flaps and an internal strap co-operating with the detachable fastening devices of the upper portions of said flaps, said strap being attached at both ends to said back portion.

13. In an aviation garment having its back portion covered by lateral flaps normally closed by fastening means at their adjacent edges to form a parachute container, the combination of quickly releasable fastening means for the lower portions of said flaps, a plurality of individually detachable fastening devices for the upper portions of said flaps and an internal strap co-operating with the detachable fastening devices of the upper portions of said flaps, said strap including a length adjacent to one end thereof adapted to fit over a parachute stowed in said container and a length-adjacent to the other end for cooperation with said detachable fastening devices.

14. In an aviation garment having its back portion covered by lateral flaps normally closed by fastening means at their adjacent edges to form a parachute container, the combination of quickly releasable fastening means for the lower portions of said flaps, an internal strap attached at both ends to said back portion, a length of said strap adjacent to one end thereof being adapted to fit over a parachute stowed in said container, detachable fastening devices mounted upon said strap over a length adjacent to the other end thereof, and co-operating fastening devices mounted upon the upper portions of said flaps.

JOHN RAYMOND CUTHBERT QUILTER. JAMES GREGORY. 

